Lillipup Line/BW
The Lillipup line is present in both games. Lillipup can be found on Routes 1, 2 and 3, while Herdier is found on Route 1 (portion that requires Surf) and Route 10 as well as the Cold Storage and P2 Laboratory; in the last three locations, Stoutland can also be found in the wild, in the rustling grass. Easily one of the best Pokémon available in Unova, not to mention either the absolute best or one of the best early game Pokémon of all time. Stoutland has offensive power, defensive prowess, and is not even entirely lacking in Speed, as well as having only one weakness; it has essentially everything a nuzlocker could possibly want from a Pokémon. Aside from its fantastic stats, it has the fortune of having many early available moves that work exceptionally on it, including but not limited to its great Normal STAB moves; Ghosts are no trouble for it either, thanks to Crunch. The Eviolite also makes it all easier by giving Lillipup and Herdier the extra sturdiness they need to be top class even before reaching their last evolutionary stage. There is nothing more one could possibly want from a single species, and one that is available in the very first route to boot; Stoutland is just that great. Important Matchups * N (Accumula Town): Spam Tackle, GG. * Bianca (Route 2): Spam Tackle again. Do not waste Lillipup's time on Leer, it will not need it. * Cheren (Striaton City): Spam even MORE Tackle. * Gym #1 - Cilan/Chili/Cress (Striaton City, Grass-, Fire- or Water-type): A slightly trickier fight than the previous, due to the triplet having Work Up. Lillipup is guaranteed to 3HKO the triplet's Lillipup at worst, and if it is higher levelled it should not run any risks in the process, even in the event that the latter uses one Work Up or maybe even two; Lillipup can only be offed by a critical Tackle by the enemy Lillipup at +2 Work Ups or more, which is simply not going to happen, as the enemy Lillipup will at most get the chance to use two moves, not three. However, if Lillipup is weakened, it could also not be able to fight the elemental monkey afterwards. Still, the team should be sporting the Dreamyard elemental monkey at this point, which will tackle the triplet's own without problems even in the event Lillipup is too tired to fight it. Alternatively, Lillipup can get to level 15 and learn Take Down, so it can defeat everything in two hits. * Cheren (Route 3): Spam either Tackle or Take Down, but pay attention to the recoil in the latter case. He only has two Pokémon either way, so Lillipup should be fine. * N (Nacrene City): Pidove and Tympole are okay for Lillipup, and plain easy for Herdier; spam Take Down. Avoid Timburr, however; Low Kick is powerful, and even with Intimidate it could crit for severe damage, not to mention it has Bide and is unlikely to go down very easily, especially to a Normal-type. * Gym #2 - Lenora (Nacrene City, Normal-type): This is right where Tackle starts to fall short, and Take Down sadly has unreliable accuracy. The mirror match versus Lenora's Herdier is manageable, but its Intimidate will be annoying and if Herdier tries to use Work Up before attacking, the enemy can retaliate with Leer and seriously threaten to crit for an OHKO. It is advised to switch into Herdier after something else has taken Lenora's Herdier's Intimidate. Same for Watchog: Retaliate is astoundingly strong after the KO, and it would be better for Herdier to switch out, then switch back in and Intimidate the Watchog if the ally Herdier has that ability, hoping that this suffices to tank its Retaliate (which it should at even levels, but critical hits exist) or that it uses something else on the first turn. Still, unless playing Shift mode, this strategy carries risks for the Pokémon Herdier switches out to before switching back in, as it might have to tank a Retaliate by itself. This is not fool-proof either, as a Take Down is unlikely to kill Watchog and it can use Leer to lower Herdier's Defense, as well as Hypnosis to annoy it (be sure to equip all Pokémon that must go up against Watchog with Chesto Berries). Overall, a very difficult fight that will likely need an in-place strategy rather than a preset course of action, as much of how it should go depends on which moves Lenora's Pokémon use. * Gym #3 - Burgh (Castelia City, Bug-type): Herdier can outmatch Whirlipede relatively easily, but needs to be wary of Poison Tail potentially poisoning it. A number of Antidotes will be required for this fight. Do not let Herdier take more than one Screech, either, and this supposes that Herdier already has the Eviolite attached. Dwebble is doable with Bite or Crunch, but there will probably be a better counter for it, and if Herdier stays in, its accuracy could be lowered by Dwebble's Sand-Attack as well. Leavanny is strong, but once again, Herdier can do it; Razor Leaf is only a 4HKO, once again if the Eviolite is attached, and Herdier can 3-4HKO with Retaliate. Fighting Leavanny will likely require more healing, but there is no danger for Herdier, as long as healing items can be used at will. * Bianca (Castelia City): The mirror match against Herdier should really not be a problem at this point, and Munna will not even get to do anything with Herdier's Bite or Crunch (Bite cannot OHKO, but it can make the enemy flinch). The elemental monkeys are not at all scary, either. As for the starters, Herdier must avoid Pignite due to Arm Thrust if possible, but even if not, Eviolite Herdier can take several Arm Thrust hits before going down, and 2HKO with Take Down (but not Retaliate). Both Servine and Dewott should be fairly easy for Herdier's STAB. * Cheren (Route 4): Very similar to the Bianca fight. Neither Pidove nor the elemental monkeys are any sort of trouble, and Liepard does not really hit hard if Herdier has the Eviolite attached. Once again, Servine and Dewott are fine, but Pignite is not, because even Cheren's Pignite has Arm Thrust and its level is higher than Bianca's. * N (Nimbasa City): Scraggy's Brick Break may appear frightening, but Take Down can 2HKO it and it is slower. Of course, this will leave with a dented Herdier for the rest of the fight, but healing items exist. Aside from that, Sandile and Darumaka are fairly easy. Pay attention to Sigilyph: Herdier will likely not outspeed it, and Psybeam is a 2HKO or 3HKO depending on Herdier's stats and level (assuming Eviolite), with Air Cutter dealing only slightly less damage but also having a higher critical hit ratio. On the plus side, Crunch is a net 2HKO. * Gym #4 - Elesa (Nimbasa City, Electric-type): Return works wonders against the Emolga, netting a clean 2HKO, and their Volt Switches are but a breeze for an Eviolite Herdier. Zebstrika, however, is scarier than them, and it would actually be better for an Emolga to Volt Switch into Zebstrika before Herdier deals damage with Return; this would improve its chances of soloing the gym. A solo can be pulled off, once again assuming Eviolite, but it will need somewhat lucky switch-outs on Elesa's part and some healing items as well. Do not use Dig against Zebstrika; Elesa can switch out, and Return is only marginally less powerful than a super effective Dig either way. * Cheren (Route 5): Essentially the same as the previous confrontation; with Return, Herdier has absolutely nothing to fear, except once again Pignite's Arm Thrust. Herdier could potentially try setting up some Work Ups before Cheren switches into Pignite, profiting of Pansage or Tranquill, though Liepard will probably use Torment and prevent this, or delay the setup. * Gym #5 - Clay (Driftveil City, Ground-type): Krokorok is dangerous to fight, due to Swagger and its higher Speed; however, it could also be used as an opportunity: with enough items to heal confusion, and an X Speed to prevent nasty confusion recoil from +6 in Attack (if Krokorok is faster, it can keep using Swagger over and over), Herdier can be set to sweep the entire gym. Palpitoad only really has Muddy Water, which can lower accuracy, but is inaccurate in and of itself; Return will 2HKO it. Do not fight Excadrill with Herdier: while Dig may hit it super effectively, it will also not OHKO it and it can use the underground turn to set up Hone Claws, which makes it incredibly deadly. If Stoutland is already evolved, it should have an easier time against the first two, but using Dig against Excadrill is still not the best idea unless Stoutland is absolutely certain it can 2HKO, which is only possible if its Attack stat is better than average. * Bianca (Driftveil City): The elemental monkey and Herdier are still easy. Servine also is, though Dewott has Revenge now, and should be avoided unless Stoutland is already evolved, and can thus take Revenge just fine; same for Pignite. Munna is now a Musharna, which makes it more powerful, but Crunch takes care of it easily no matter Stoutland's evolutionary stage. * N (Chargestone Cave): Dig may win over Boldore in the long run, but its Iron Defense makes it harder to beat, and the fight is likely not worth fighting unless there are no better options on the team; it is not risky, but it will be long. Likewise for Ferroseed, with the added danger of Gyro Ball: Stoutland is not incredibly fast, but it is fast enough for it to deal good damage. Still, Dig takes care of Ferroseed in two to three turns. Klink should go down easily to the same move, and so will Joltik to Return. * Gym #6 - Skyla (Mistralton City, Flying-type): Swoobat and Unfezant should be really easy to beat; an Acrobatics from Swoobat's measly Attack is not even close to a 2HKO, and Unfezant does not even have Super Luck, which makes its entirely special moveset non-threatening at best and laughable at worst. Swanna is stronger, but Return once again nets the 2HKO before its Air Slash does much of anything. * Cheren (Route 7): Again, the only Pokémon to be wary of here is Pignite, but for Heat Crash rather than Arm Thrust. Everything else is no trouble for Stoutland, even the now-evolved elemental monkeys. Remember, however, that they are faster than Stoutland, and Return can only 2HKO them; their moves can at best 3HKO if they are lucky, but if Stoutland is already weakened, this is a point to consider, especially against Simipour and its Scald, which can easily cause a burn. * Gym #7 - Brycen (Icirrus City, Ice-type): Vanillish might be annoying with Acid Armor, but should eventually go down to Return nevertheless. So will Beartic, but do not underestimate the power of its Icicle Crash; it is quite strong. It also has Swagger, and Stoutland should not attempt to attack it if confused, as the recoil confusion damage and Beartic's attack damage can stack up and become very dangerous for a weakened Stoutland. Unless this becomes an issue, however, Return 2-3HKOs Beartic, which can only 3HKO Stoutland. Cryogonal is faster and has very good Special Attack, but this should not be a problem for Stoutland unless it is already below half health, as Cryogonal's strongest move is Frost Breath; a single Return will scrap it, because it has terrible Defense. * Bianca (Route 8): She now has a fully evolved team, though her Stoutland is likely lower levelled than the ally Stoutland, and Retaliate is its best move. Despite its Intimidate, it cannot escape from a 3HKO by the hand of Stoutland's Return. Take it down as soon as possible, because it has Work Up. Be mildly wary of the elemental monkeys if Stoutland is below half health, but otherwise, they should not pose problems either. Musharna goes down to Crunch. Emboar is okay, but Samurott has Revenge and Serperior is both faster and has Coil, making it difficult to defeat by Stoutland alone; a possibly faster Pokémon with good type effectiveness against Grass would be much better here, to avoid long-term risks in battle. * Gym #8 - Iris/Drayden (Opelucid City, Dragon-type): Take Fraxure down with two Returns before it can start spamming Dragon Dance, then withdraw Stoutland when Druddigon comes around, because it has Revenge. If possible and if Stoutland has Intimidate as its ability, it can be switched out before Haxorus comes, and then switched back in when Iris or Drayden are sending out their ace, so that its Attack gets nerfed before it starts Dragon Dancing; Stoutland's Return is most likely a 3HKO against Haxorus, and Drayden and Iris both have healing items, which could make this fight very dangerous and difficult. Stoutland is a good candidate for their ace, but it will need to play its cards very carefully: a critical Dragon Tail offs Stoutland after a single Dragon Dance (assuming no Intimidate beforehand), and a critical Slash can take it down starting at two. Substitute will help avoiding the former, but not the latter, and setting up a Substitute in this fight is rather difficult, let alone keeping it intact until Haxorus switches in. * Cheren (Route 10): The main threat is Serperior, for Oshawott pickers, since it has Coil. Emboar has no Fighting STAB, and Samurott no longer carries Revenge; the others are the same as ever, so if Stoutland has defeated them thus far without an issue (which should be the case), then it should have no issues now, either. Return is Stoutland's go-to move against anything but Musharna, which can be defeated faster with Crunch. * Elite Four Shauntal (Pokémon League, Ghost-type): A little Crunch goes a long way... except if Cofagrigus scores the burn with Will-O-Wisp, but nothing a Full Heal or Full Restore cannot fix. Jellicent's Cursed Body might also block it, however. Careful with Chandelure's Fire Blast, as it is more powerful than Crunch; likewise, Golurk has Brick Break, but this is slightly less powerful than Stoutland's Crunch. While the cumulative damage may make a solo impossible, Stoutland can still pull off a couple kills in this battle. Stoutland can also set up Work Ups against Cofagrigus before fighting the other Pokémon, which would help it OHKO the sturdier ones: starting at +4 Attack, Crunch OHKOs everything on Shauntal's team, once again unless Jellicent's Cursed Body blocks it off; since Cofagrigus' Psychic is a mere 4-5HKO, Stoutland has just enough wiggle room to pull off the setup. * Elite Four Marshal (Pokémon League, Fighting-type): Do not. This is the one and only fight in the game in which Stoutland should never even set foot on the battlefield. * Elite Four Grimsley (Pokémon League, Dark-type): Scrafty's Brick Break is not Stoutland-friendly, and that should be avoided. Liepard is not threatening enough to worry Stoutland, and can be used to get off two or more Work Ups, but in this case only Bisharp can be fought afterwards, because Krookodile is faster and its Foul Play would destroy a Stoutland that has doubled or more than doubled its Attack; alternatively, an X Speed can be used to make Stoutland outspeed Krookodile, and get at least three Work Ups off to compensate for its Intimidate. Assuming no setups, instead, it is a battle of endurance more than anything else, but Stoutland gets the short end of the stick against Krookodile, due to its Intimidate and Earthquake as well as the higher Speed; while Dig can 2-3HKO Bisharp, depending on Stoutland's stats, switching it in is ill-advised if it has Intimidate, as Bisharp's Defiant will more than compensate for the Attack reduction. * Elite Four Caitlin (Pokémon League, Psychic-type): Avoid Reuniclus due to Focus Blast, the rest should be fought without significant issues. Musharna and Gothitelle deserve special attention: Musharna has Reflect and Charge Beam, which may be a problem if Caitlin also heals it while it boosts its own Special Attack; likewise, Gothitelle has Calm Mind, and a good enough Defense to actually make Crunch a potential 3HKO. Again, only a problem if Caitlin heals it after it sets up, but still something to consider, with Caitlin's two available Full Restores. * Reshiram/Zekrom (N's Castle): Spamming Dig is the best thing to do. Neither Reshiram nor Zekrom have setup moves, which means Dig will not backfire. Both of their signature moves, however, are very powerful and Dig can only pull off a 2HKO if Stoutland is holding a Ground Gem; otherwise, both legendary dragons will 2HKO Stoutland. * N (N's Castle): The legendary dragons are by no means easy, especially considering the Gem Stoutland may have just used is now gone. Reshiram is the most difficult, because it has Reflect and does not care at all about Intimidate, assuming Stoutland has it. There are better Pokémon to fight them, but Stoutland can deal some damage in a pinch. Klinklang and Carracosta are doable with Dig, but Carracosta does have Sturdy as wel as powerful moves, especially Stone Edge with its high critical hit rate; paired with the Pokémon's high Attack, it can endanger a wounded Stoutland. Vanilluxe can be 2HKOed with Return and is likely to waste its first turn setting up Hail; even if it does use Blizzard, a healthy Stoutland can take it without a problem. Archeops is best avoided, as it resists Normal moves and its Acrobatics is incredibly powerful; Crunch cannot take it down to Defeatist range, either, so Stoutland has no chances of winning against it. Bear in mind at all times that Zoroark has both Illusion and Focus Blast, so making Stoutland participate in this fight before Zoroark is down could lead to awful surprises, as the move can deal up to around 80% to Stoutland without any critical hits. * Ghetsis (N's Castle): Cofagrigus has Toxic, but should otherwise be no trouble if Stoutland can heal. Another plus is that Stoutland is faster than all of Ghetsis' Pokémon except Hydreigon, and can therefore spam Work Up at will against the relatively non-threatening Cofagrigus, then sweep everything with Crunch, Return, or Dig (the latter against Bisharp). Hydreigon, however, does have Focus Blast; Stoutland will endure one hit, but cannot survive a critical hit in any way, so the risk should be taken only in absence of better Hydreigon counters, or if Hydreigon is Ghetsis' last standing Pokémon. Upwards of +4 in Attack, Return is enough to OHKO Hydreigon, with Speed being Stoutland's only real problem; consider investing an X Speed during the Work Up setups if possible, in order to circumvent this issue. * Post-Game: Apart from the Marshal rematch, not much can threaten Stoutland even at this point. It has the bulk it has, and that is plenty for most opponents; it can take on nearly anything. Moves Lillipup starts with Leer and Tackle. Tackle alone is a more powerful asset than it sounds, with the now-perfect accuracy and STAB, totaling an amazing base power of 75 at the very beginning of the game. It also learns Odor Sleuth at level 5, but that move is useless as it gets Bite at level 8 already, and that is much better to hit the future ghosts. Helping Hand comes at level 12, but is not really worth keeping. Right before evolving, it learns Take Down at level 15; this is a completely broken move for this point in the game, though it does have the downside of causing recoil damage and having a less-than-perfect accuracy. Nevertheless, a good slot filler until the more reliable but less powerful Retaliate, or the ever-popular Return. After evolution, Herdier gets Work Up at level 20, but this move is already available via TM since its Lillipup stage anyway. At level 24, it gets Crunch, a welcome upgrade to Bite which achieves very good coverage together with Normal moves; at level 29 Roar comes around, but once again, not really worth the trouble. As Stoutland, it will gain access to Retaliate at level 36, once again a move that has long since been available as a TM, and then Reversal at level 42; the latter is somewhat interesting and provides good coverage, though with Stoutland's not so great Speed it may not be very profitable. At level 51, the line learns Last Resort, which can be a good move to have for longer battles where Stoutland fights multiple Pokémon and uses all of its moves; lastly, at level 59, if Stoutland ever gets that far, it learns Giga Impact, though it has a worse damage output than two Returns and is only really worth keeping for Shift mode nuzlockers. Via TM, the line gets access to the already mentioned Retaliate after Lenora, which is a good option for players who prefer no recoil and perfect accuracy over a higher base power, and then Return starting from Nimbasa City, the best possible move for any physically oriented Normal-type to have. Other good coverage moves to have are Dig and Wild Charge, though the latter is only available in the very late segments of the game, as the TM is found in Victory Road. Stoutland does have more offensive options, but moves like Rock Tomb and Aerial Ace are largely underpowered and the likes of Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball and Surf run off the wrong offensive stat. As far as status moves go, Work Up is likely Stoutland's best ally, available since after the first badge, and it gives it a welcome edge with its already good offensive power. Recommended moveset: Work Up, Return, Crunch, Dig / Last Resort Recommended Teammates * Psychic- or Ghost-types: Since there is only one Fighting-type boss in the game, and the rest of the Pokémon Stoutland is weak against are few and far in between, a general resident Flying-type will usually be enough for them. However, for the best possible team synergy, Stoutland should pair with a Psychic- or Ghost-type, since these can deal with Fighting-types very well and provide excellent switch-ins. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Musharna, Sigilyph, Cofagrigus, Gothitelle, Reuniclus, Jellicent, Beheeyem, Chandelure, Golurk Stoutland is realistically unlikely to require much team coverage beyond a proper Fighting-type counter, as it is a very capable Pokémon in its own right. As such, the rest of the team can be juggled at will. Other Lillipup's stats Herdier's stats Stoutland's stats * What Nature do I want? Anything that lowers Special Attack works well, with Adamant being the best of all. Impish and Careful give a welcome defensive edge as well, with Stoutland's great bulk, while Jolly can be a welcome plus to Stoutland's otherwise only better-than-average Speed. * Which Ability do I want? Intimidate, definitely. Pickup may be appealing for as long as Lillipup stays a Lillipup, but Sand Rush is completely useless outside of sand teams later during the game. Intimidate, on the other hand, gives Stoutland even more of an advantage against physical hitters. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? Herdier status must be reached before Lenora, and it should later become a Stoutland around the time Clay is fought or right after that. No point waiting past the natural levels to evolve, there are no moves the pre-evolutions get that the evolutions do not. * How good is the Lillipup line in a Nuzlocke? Incredibly, possibly the best of all of the early game Pokémon in existence, and if not, it contends the throne with Staraptor. Stoutland has attacking power, defensive prowess, and it is not even slow. It is one of the best Pokémon available in the whole of Unova, and will prove itself an amazing ally in any team. * Weaknesses: Fighting * Resistances: None * Immunities: Ghost * Neutralities: Normal, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Bug, Steel, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Ice, Dragon, Dark Category:Black/White Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses